Mušič was born on 12 February 1909 in the village of Bukovica near Gorizia (most literature only lists a reference to Gorizia). After the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his father (a teacher) was transferred to Velikovec (Voelkermarkt) in Kaernten, Austria, where Mušič attended grammar school, completing it in Maribor. Before he enrolled at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts (1929/30-1934), he made several visits to Vienna and Prague. He spent his holidays in Dalmatia. Encouraged by Prof. L. Babić, he travelled to Spain after his graduation (1935-1936), but after the outbreak of civil war he moved to Dalmatia (Korčula), the landscape of which, along with his early memories of his birthplace in the Karst region, have greatly influenced his art. He exhibited with the Independents (Neodvisni) several times. In 1943 he travelled to Venice for the first time. He returned to Venice in 1945 and maintains a residence there. In the period from 1944 to 1945 he was imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp (from 1970 to 1975 he created a moving series entitled We Are Not the Last). In 1948 his work drew attention at the Venice Biennial (where he received awards in 1950, 1956 and 1960; in 1984 he mounted an independent exhibition of his works at the Biennial), opening the door to Rome (where he acquainted himself with the landscape around Sienna, which became a powerful motif in his works) and Switzerland. In 1952 he exhibited in Paris for the first time as the recipient of the Premio Parigi Award (presented to him in Cortina). A contract with the Galerie de France allowed him to move to the city permanently and establish ties with the Ecole de Paris (in 1960 he moved to one of Paris's quieter districts; in 1970 he received France's highest award for artists -- he was named a Knight of Art and in 1990 a Knight of the League of Honour). In the 1970's he began creating a new series of landscapes, followed by a series of paintings of Venice in 1981-1982 and the "Cathedrals" series in 1984. Lately, most of his work has been devoted to portraits of his wife Ida and self-portraits. Mušič is an internationally renowned painter whose work can be found in numerous collections throughout the world. Retrospective exhibitions of his work have been mounted world-wide (most recently in Venice, Museo Correr in 1985, Paris, the Pompidou Centre in 1988 and Rome and Milan in 1992). In Slovenia, he received the Jakopič Award in 1979, while in 1981 he received the Grand Prize of Honour at the 14th International Biennial of Graphic Art in Ljubljana. Since 1981 he has been an associate correspondent member of the Slovene Academy of Science and Art, and since 1990 a foreign associate member of the same body. He received the 1991 Prešeren Award for Life Achievements. On 6 September 1991 the display of a permanent collection of Mušič's graphic prints was opened in Dobrova Castle in Goriška Brda. His artistic interests include painting, graphic art and drawing. He has also participated in the execution of mural decorations (frescoes, mosaics).